Chapter 7 - We're Family Now

"Well, what do we have here," Clair spoke out after moving until she stood not far from them. Zenith sighed, a little annoyed. Kalen's brows furrowed and he spoke up, "Cut it out, Clair. Don't start." No doubt having matured since the time he had been bullied all those years ago. One of the boys that had caught up to Clair glared at him and stepped in front. "It's Lady Clair to you, lanky piece of shit. Maybe a broken nose will make you more respectful to her?" Clearly trying to impress Clair.

Kalen, though, had his limits in bravery. He nervously kept silent. Zenith, of course, spoke up with a soft chuckle. "Cool! Since today we are breaking noses, why not add in arms as well? You got a full set of teeth, right? You shouldn't worry about missing a few." The boy blinked, a trace of fear in his eyes. Zenith obviously had a cruel reputation; although he didn't show reactions to being bullied by words, when it came to threats of violence, he was very interested and would not back down from a fight even against those bigger than him.

The thing is, although Zenith might lose a few if ganged up on, he would definitely seek revenge and pick off the people one by one eventually after he recovered. The fear that added to them was that Zenith seemed to enjoy fighting and didn't seem to care about being hurt.

"Hah, calm down. Fighting is for trash," Clair waved things off, grinning, obviously enjoying the situation. "Zenith, you obviously have no resonance frequency and are going to be a loser your entire life unless you're lucky enough. Let's be real, you're not lucky and won't ever be."

Zenith, after finishing his snack, rolled up the paper and threw it into a nearby garbage can, pocketing one hand and locking gazes with her. As he listened, those around glared, no doubt snickering, smugly playing follow the leader.

"Twenty years old and still playing school games, Clair. There's always someone bigger than you. How many people in the federation stand above you and your family that would look with disgust, thinking you're trash to them too?" Zenith smirked; he could fight with words too.

Clair glared at him. She was a bit more sensitive, as no one would speak to her like that. Zenith, though, did, and this pissed her off, but seeing him and walking over, she wasn't here for simply stirring trouble. "How funny. Anyway, it's your lucky day. My family estate just so happens to be lacking a servant recently, and considering we are classmates, and your situation, I think you are perfectly suited for the job."

Before Zenith replied, several of the other boys spoke up. "Lady Clair, you don't need to hire this idiot. There's us! We will be there whenever you need us!" While another continued, "I can be your servant. I'll tend to any issue you need, no matter the time of day!" as some others chimed in. Kalen laughed a little and spoke, "Hey Clair, look at how many people want to serve you. Careful, you might not know who the father is."

Both he and Zenith laughed, while Clair was furious, her face reddening from embarrassment and anger, her fists clenched. "Idiots! Shut up! I'm speaking to Zenith, not any of you!" With the words spoken, they all kept their mouths silent in fear. "Zenith, let's not beat around the bush. I can forgive everything in the past as long as you become my servant. Otherwise, with us having graduated, I don't have to worry about using some more forceful means from my family." Clair eyed him, a cruel look with a smirk.

Zenith's eyes narrowed. Kalen leaned in and whispered, "Want me to use my family to press hers? It's no issue, you know. Just give the word." Zenith quietly locked a focused, almost animalistic gaze with Clair. This glance made her shiver.

"You know, Clair, you're always going to be a daddy's girl, a mommy's girl, using your connections to do whatever you want, relying on others to do your dirty work. What can you do by yourself? But are you by yourself? Your grades are average. You may have a resonance frequency that's awakened, but will you get an ability? You know what I think your future is? I think your parents are looking to use you and marry you off to some big shot to make their ties stronger. In the end, aren't you just a tool used by them no matter how much they say that they love and care for you? Otherwise, what sort of parents would raise a bratty narcissist?"

With each word Zenith spoke, Kalen's eyes widened with joy, breaking into laughter while Clair's friends were stunned and looked nervous. No one had spoken to her so harshly before, not even when she had been in trouble with their teacher. Clair furiously clenched her fists, a maddened look of hatred, her eyes teary. She couldn't rebuke Zenith; his words she knew were mostly right. In fact, her father and mother had started to press her a bit about potential marriage candidates that she didn't really take seriously until now. "Y-you!... Little shit... H-how dare you!!... MILES, JOHNSON!! Break a few limbs and drag him back to my shuttle car... I'd like to see just how words are going to save you from that..."

A ruthless look on her face. Soon two looming shadows seemingly appeared close to Clair. They had been at the back of the group, blending in perfectly. They were men seemingly in their 40s, with a professional look, dressed in black business suits that seemed to have some unique traces of battle attire as well as sunglasses, their faces expressionless. "Yes, young miss," speaking in unison, they began to approach Zenith.

"S-shit, bodyguards. Zenith, we need to go and get the authorities," Kalen looked around. Zenith grumbled, getting into a basic fighting stance he learned from the academy. He knew these guys, hired by Clair's family to look after her, were definitely trained and resonance users.

"Kid, come with us peacefully and we'll go easy on you," the dark-skinned one spoke. The other with the tanned complexion raised his right hand, resonance energy gathering to form a large mallet.

Kalen was surprised. "Resonance energy. Zenith, we need to run! These guys know resonance runes!" Zenith appeared nervous, breaking out into a soft sweat. For him, they were far out of his league. Considering they knew resonance runes, it meant their bodies had also been strengthened with resonance; they were at least 4 times stronger than the average adult man.

As they approached Zenith, the area that had been silent and cleared out due to the conflict and some people watching from the side not daring to get involved, especially with someone with background for a nobody, one could hear a slurping sound that seemed a bit intentionally loud. "Wow!.. Didn't think I'd get to watch a show of two donkeys picking on someone far weaker and smaller than them. You guys should be ashamed of yourselves."

The two guards stopped, looking a bit surprised. Everyone then looked over, seeing the source of the voice. Surprisingly, it was the young man who had been on the freighter shuttle that was part of the Allspace Relic Hunter organization that Zenith applied for, though no one here knew that.

The tanned-skin guard glared, speaking up. "Why don't you shut your fucking mouth unless you want me to break that pretty face of yours?" The dark-skinned man remained silent, a bit cautious.

The young man chuckled, finishing his bowl of plain noodles and beef broth, wiping his mouth with his cuff. He then stood up and approached the scene, standing between Zenith and them. Zenith was thankful that someone stood up for him, though he didn't know this person nor wanted to owe a stranger anything. "Sir, I don't think this is your business. I can handle myself."

He would feel bad if someone with nothing to do with this got hurt for being kind. After all, the universe didn't like kind people unless they had strength. The young man, grinning, arms folded, his gaze turning to Zenith, spoke up. "What do you mean none of my business? You're a team member, and we're family now!"

Zenith was a little confused, thinking for a moment before he realized something. "Y-You're from the Relic Hunter organization Allspace!?" The young man smirked. The others around looked surprised; Zenith being a team member of an organization meant he had applied.

The two guards suddenly became extremely cautious and careful. Members of relic hunter organizations were always battle-ready and would definitely be trained for combat. The dark-skinned man used the situation of the young man looking towards Zenith to put his hand out towards the young man and quickly spoke. "The Sky Trembles and the ground gives way!! Resonance Surge!!!"

Soon a flash of energy condensed at his hand, forming and then shooting in a beam-like state like a screeching lightning bolt. The young man turned and looked towards the approaching beam, a smirk on his face. Reaching out with a single hand, the hand seemed to emit a soft, near-transparent energy with a soft blue hue. The beam soon connected, and a crashing sound echoed across, causing dust and wind to blow around several meters away. Zenith had to cover his eyes, as well as the others around.

When it all settled, the scene was now visible. The young man still had his hand outstretched, and only a soft steam emitted from his palm, single-handedly stopping the technique. A goofy look and smile on his face, he soon spoke as he lowered his hand.

"If that's all you got, I think the only broken faces and limbs here are going to be you guys... though, don't blame me if a few go missing." His smile suddenly turned a little cruel.